Freada Kapor Klein's Giving Notice in Miami Herald

To retain workers, keep them engaged
Three books offer ideas on how companies can help workers feel valued and respected, which will then enhance their productivity and reduce employee turnover.
BY RICHARD PACHTER
rap@WordsonWords.com
Miami Herald, Monday, November 5, 2007

Giving Notice: Why the Best and Brightest are Leaving the Workplace and How You Can Help Them Stay. Freada Kapor Klein. Jossey-Bass. 240 pages.

Klein looks at the problem from the angle of diversity. It's an extremely worthwhile approach, since not taking individuals' needs and backgrounds into consideration is a sure way to communicate to them that they do not matter. I once visited a firm that had a Christmas display featuring stockings with names for each employee in that office, with one exception: a non-Christian. They chose to just not include her, which was possibly well intended, but sent a message of exclusion, nonetheless. Considering that they had gone to great lengths to recruit this person for the position, a bit more thought should have been given to the matter. Kapor cites similar instances in which ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation issues impeded the career development of individuals and affected firms' abilities to retain talented and productive workers. She proposes a number of common-sense remedies, most of which involve consideration and communication.

For the other books reviewed in this article, please click here.